Blog – Mack Butler Entertains at April Luncheon

The always effervescent Mack Butler was at his Oklahoma State best when he held court at the Tulsa Sports Charities April luncheon.

Some three dozen or so guests gathered at the Southern Hills Marriott to hear Butler’s unique take on all things OSU football, from last season’s bowl victory to the 2013 schedule that kicks off Aug. 31 in Houston.

Butler is the director of football operations for Oklahoma State, a position he has held twice in his two stints on the Stillwater campus.

His popularity, fueled by his sense of humor and deep-rooted football knowledge, reaches across the lines to fans and coaches.

As O-State head coach Mike Gundy says: “Mack is highly thought of throughout college football. He is very good at what he does.”

What he did during the Tulsa Sports Charities luncheon was engage and enthrall an audience hungry for news about the Oklahoma State football program.

Among those in attendance was Rusty Hilger, former OSU quarterback (1981-84) who played eight seasons in the National Football League.

Butler revisited the Cowboys’ 58-14 victory over Purdue in the Heart of Dallas Bowl and looked ahead to the 2013 schedule, which kicks off Aug. 31 against Mississippi State in Houston.

“It is a big opener,” Butler said. “A great venue.”

He talked about the OSU athletic complex, a work in progress that, in his words, “adds to the ambience of what we have going at Oklahoma State University.”

Combined with the attractive Boone Pickens Stadium and a nationally recognized football program, the animated Butler said the pride factor in being an OSU fan is off the charts.

The 2013 offensive edition of the football Cowboys, he said, “is loaded at the skill positions.”

And the defensive unit, he said, “has a lot of guys back. Experienced.”

Butler himself is an experienced football hand.

A product of Fairfax High School, he launched his coaching career with stops at Stigler, McAlester and Wilburton high schools before being selected to coach in the 1985 Oklahoma high school All-State game.

He was on the coaching staff of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M when the undefeated Golden Norsemen won the 1986 national junior college championship.

Butler joined the University of Tulsa staff as an assistant coach in 1989 and remained through 1999 before being elevated to director of football operations in 2000.

The following year, Butler moved on to Oklahoma State, serving as director of football operations from 2001 through 2004.

He followed former OSU coach Les Miles to Louisiana State, but returned to Stillwater in 2009 to regain his position as Oklahoma State’s football goodwill ambassador.